Job 31
1 A covenant I made for mine eyes, And what — do I attend to a virgin?
I vowed to myself never to look with desire at young women.
2 And what [is] the portion of God from above? And the inheritance of the Mighty from the heights?
What should people expect to receive from God? What reward should the Almighty on high give them?
3 Is not calamity to the perverse? And strangeness to workers of iniquity?
Isn't it disaster for the wicked and destruction for those who do wrong?
4 Doth not He see my ways, And all my steps number?
Doesn't God see everything I do—even count every step I take?
5 If I have walked with vanity, And my foot doth hasten to deceit,
Have I lived a deceitful life? Have I been eager to tell lies?
6 He doth weigh me in righteous balances, And God doth know my integrity.
No! Let God weigh me on the scales of his justice and let him discover my integrity.
7 If my step doth turn aside from the way, And after mine eyes hath my heart gone, And to my hands cleaved hath blemish,
If I have wandered from God's way, if I have let what I see become my desires, if there's any stain of sin on my hands,
8 Let me sow — and another eat, And my products let be rooted out.
then let someone else eat what I have sown, and all that I have grown be uprooted.
9 If my heart hath been enticed by woman, And by the opening of my neighbour I laid wait,
If a woman has seduced me, or if I have looked for an opportunity to sleep with my neighbor's wife,
10 Grind to another let my wife, And over her let others bend.
then let my wife serve another, let other men sleep with her.
11 For it [is] a wicked thing, and a judicial iniquity;
For that would be wicked, a sin deserving punishment,
12 For a fire it [is], to destruction it consumeth, And among all mine increase doth take root,
for this sin is like a fire that leads to destruction, destroying everything I have.
13 If I despise the cause of my man-servant, And of my handmaid, In their contending with me,
If I had refused to listen to my menservants or maidservants when they brought their complaints to me,
14 Then what do I do when God ariseth? And when He doth inspect, What do I answer Him?
what would I do when God came to judge me? How would I reply if he investigated me?
15 Did not He that made me in the womb make him? Yea, prepare us in the womb doth One.
Didn't the same God make all of us?
16 If I withhold from pleasure the poor, And the eyes of the widow do consume,
Have I refused to give the poor what they needed, or caused widows to despair?
17 And I do eat my morsel by myself, And the orphan hath not eat of it,
Have I even eaten just a piece of bread by myself? Haven't I always shared my food with orphans?
18 (But from my youth He grew up with me as [with] a father, And from the belly of my mother I am led.)
From when I was young I was a father to orphans and took care of widows.
19 If I see [any] perishing without clothing, And there is no covering to the needy,
If ever I saw someone needing clothes, the poor without anything to wear,
20 If his loins have not blessed me, And from the fleece of my sheep He doth not warm himself,
they always thanked me for the wool clothing that kept them warm.
21 If I have waved at the fatherless my hand, When I see in [him] the gate of my court,
If I raised my hand to hit an orphan, confident that if it came to court the judges would be on my side,
22 My shoulder from its blade let fall, And mine arm from the bone be broken.
then let my shoulder be pulled from its joint, my arm wrenched out of its socket.
23 For a dread unto me [is] calamity [from] God, And because of His excellency I am not able.
Since I'm terrified of what punishment God may have in store for me, and because of his majesty, I could never do this.
24 If I have made gold my confidence, And to the pure gold have said, 'My trust,'
Have I put my trust in gold, calling fine gold, ‘My security’?
25 If I rejoice because great [is] my wealth, And because abundance hath my hand found,
Have I delighted in being rich, happy at all my wealth I had gained?
26 If I see the light when it shineth, And the precious moon walking,
Have I looked at the sun shining so brilliantly or the moon moving in majesty across the sky
27 And my heart is enticed in secret, And my hand doth kiss my mouth,
and been tempted to secretly worship them by kissing my hand to them in devotion?
28 It also [is] a judicial iniquity, For I had lied to God above.
This too would be a sin deserving punishment for it would mean I had denied God above.
29 If I rejoice at the ruin of my hater, And stirred up myself when evil found him,
Have I ever been happy when disaster destroyed those who hated me, or celebrated when evil took them down?
30 Yea, I have not suffered my mouth to sin, To ask with an oath his life.
I have never allowed my mouth to sin by putting a curse on someone's life.
31 If not — say ye, O men of my tent, 'O that we had of his flesh, we are not satisfied.'
Haven't my family asked, ‘Is there anyone who has not eaten as much as they wanted of his food?’
32 In the street doth not lodge a stranger, My doors to the traveller I open.
I have never let strangers sleep in the street; I have opened my doors to travelers.
33 If I have covered as Adam my transgressions, To hide in my bosom mine iniquity,
Have I concealed my sins from others, hiding my wrongdoing deep inside me?
34 Because I fear a great multitude, And the contempt of families doth affright me, Then I am silent, I go not out of the opening.
Was I afraid of what everybody else would think, scared of the contempt families would show me, so that I kept quiet and didn't go outside?
35 Who giveth to me a hearing? lo, my mark. The Mighty One doth answer me, And a bill hath mine adversary written.
Why won't anyone listen to what I'm saying! I'm signing my name to endorse everything I've said. Let the Almighty answer me. Let my accuser write down what he is charging me with.
36 If not — on my shoulder I take it up, I bind it a crown on myself.
I would hold them up high; I would wear them on my head like a crown.
37 The number of my steps I tell Him, As a leader I approach Him.
I would explain to him everything I'd done; I would hold my head high before him.
38 If against me my land doth cry out, And together its furrows weep,
If my land has cried out against me; if her furrows have wept over me;
39 If its strength I consumed without money, And the life of its possessors, I have caused to breathe out,
if I have taken its crops without payment or if I have caused harm to the farmers;
40 Instead of wheat let a thorn go forth, And instead of barley a useless weed! The words of Job are finished.
then let thorns grow instead of wheat, and weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended.
